The present invention relates to the paving art and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for filling trenches in paved surfaces.
It is often necessary to disturb a portion of a roadway or other paved surface for the purpose of laying or repairing conduits therein. For example, commercial television cables are commonly installed in existing neighborhoods by burying them beneath the streets of the neighborhoods. Trenches are dug in the streets for this purpose. The paved surface at the location of each trench must later be patched to a condition equal to or better than the condition of the surface before the trench was dug.
In practice, it is difficult to satisfactorily patch paved surfaces in which trenches have been dug. Using conventional techniques, a trench is backfilled with a concrete slurry material within a few inches of the paved surface. After the slurry hardens, asphalt is shoveled into the trench to form a mound higher than the paved surface. A roller is then used to compact the mound, hopefully yielding a smooth patch coinciding with the paved surface. However, the sticky nature and poor flow characteristics of asphalt make it difficult to obtain a uniform density within the trench before compacting. Even if great care is taken to form a uniform mound of asphalt before the rolling process, the material within the trench will have localized portions of low and high density, respectively. This condition persists after the mound is rolled to the level of the paved surface, allowing portions of the patch to settle over time and produce a grossly uneven surface. The process of shoveling asphalt into the trench is also very time consuming. In fact, crews engaged in the process have generally been able to cover no more than one mile of trench per day.
Another technique for compacting asphalt in the patching of paved surfaces is to repeatedly strike the asphalt with a flat lower surface of a portable vibratory unit. This technique is commonly used at locations which are inaccessible to conventional heavy rollers.
Therefore, in many applications it is desirable to provide an apparatus for efficiently distributing and compacting a substantially granular paving material within a trench in a paved surface.